Page 30 of Taming Darkness

I focus my gaze back on the towers rising from the crystal shards, each one growing larger than the last, feeding off the last one's energy. Each of them zaps the next as it creates another barrier. A barrier I am trapped inside—inside a perfectly created fence that keeps me contained until the owner decides to release me. Or so she thinks, these crystals may harm my mates, but I am unlike my mates, I am not pure darkness. I am also pure light, I can switch and morph between the two, but even I feel my power lacking.

My Phoenixes start attacking the creatures, pouring their magic into the towers. I’m not sure what they are, but it’s obvious they were once Fae, but they are now something else. The creatures don’t react to the constant attacks. Their eyes are glazed over, as if in a trance-like state. They aren’t in control anymore. It’s my mother, she’s the one holding them hostage.

“Run!” Darius gasps as we watch the power surge to the last Crystal Tower. That’s the last key that would seal us in. My mates’ power is already immobilized, yet mine flexes like a muscle at the challenge.

Especially the shadow snakes. I can feel them sliding over my skin, slowly taking their places and gladly hissing at the danger heading towards us. In addition, they feed power into me, lending me magic. I can’t be certain, but it feels like cold-blooded creatures are glad to test their strength, test my magic and bleed back into me.

My eyes turn to Kalen as he races toward me, and I tilt my head, feeling sad that he would think I was abandoning him once again. “I’m not running this time, I would never run from you,” I tell him, feeling my magic surge down my arms.

We will not escape this pentagram. The only doorway out of this is closing in. Darius starts running at me too, as if they both believe they could scare me into running away or just force me out of this battle.

I won’t let them be trapped here with me. My mates might think otherwise, but I know she wants me here. She needs me trapped inside here. But capturing me also traps them.

So I flick my wrist, opening a portal. Their eyes widen when a sad smile spreads across my lips. I’m doing the right thing; I know I am. I blast my mates with a powerful gust of wind. My Phoenixes screech their song as my mates fly backwards.

Darius screams, his last sliver of power surging to attack mine, but he is no match for me anymore. “Aleera, no!” Tobias screams as he’s tossed into the portal back to Astrid. Lycus snarls, clawing at the ground as I throw him through, leaving Darius.

“I forgive you, but it’s about time you forgave yourself,” I whisper, addressing Darius.

“No!” he gasps.

“Yes,” I breathe, blasting him with every ounce I have left.

Chapter17

~Aleera~

Darius’ screams of despair break my heart as he’s forced out of the pentagram. His body is thrown through the air to the safety of the portal I created. The look on his face threatens to destroy me. I feel like I could break down in tears, yet I’m unsure if it’s because of the relief that they are safe or despair at possibly losing them.

The portal shuts just as the last tower is charged, lighting up the sky as it meets in the middle. Then, I am smashed with electricity. The electric jolt travels through my body, scorching my nerves with such force that I don’t have enough time to register if I actually feel pain. And if I do, it is only fleeting.

My knees go out from under me, hitting the concrete ground along with my hands as I propel forward. I try to get up, to fight the force holding me down, but each attempt ends with the same scenario—a helpless dead end. I’m wasting the little energy left in my body, so instead of letting them steal it all, I mask it, suffocate it under my white magic, obscuring it. Furthermore, I absorb it into the deepest parts of myself, where I can keep it safe.

The energy emanating from the towers slowly drains me of power, immobilizing it. I grit my teeth and ignore the pain that slowly spreads through my body as I lift my head, ignoring the urge to unleash what is left of my dark magic and waste it. My eyes find my mother within a second, and I make it a point to glare at my mother. If only glares could kill.

I force all the hatred I feel for that woman into my gaze, but even that doesn’t feel like enough. There is no living person I hate more than her. And yet, as unfazed as ever, she casually strolls down the stairs toward me. My mother's presence is powerful and intimidating, out of this world, ethereal. She is the embodiment of power, which is strange, almost as if the crystals that drained me, energized her. The dark energy wrapping around her is palpable, like a dark cloud hovering over her. Her eyes are cold and calculated, and her face is an expressionless mask. She holds her head high, her chin jutting out as she strides confidently toward me. She exudes an aura of darkness and power that would make any lesser being cower in fear.

Her feet stop next to my face. I expected a blow, a show of power and superiority, but instead, she circles me and clicks her tongue. “Your father’s death won’t be in vain.”

An amused giggle escapes me at her words. “You have no idea what you have just done,” I growl at her, glaring up at her through clenched teeth.

“See, that is where you are wrong. I know exactly what I am doing, Aleera. Who do you think came up with the plague?” she murmurs, crouching beside me. I don’t want her near me. If anything, I want her as far from me as possible, or better yet, dead. Yet, she seems to love making sure her face is etched into everyone's darkest memories.

She grips my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. As my eyes look into hers, I can’t believe this horrible woman is the same one who gave birth to me. The same woman I once called my mother. The difference between the woman I grew up knowing and the one that stands before me now is vast. She is a monster.

Her eyes no longer resemble my mother’s. That part of her died a long time ago. Buried so deep inside the leftover shell of a person, void and unfeeling. It makes me question how she became what she is, has she always been like this, and we only saw her through a rose-colored veil, do I remember her wrong?

Now, she is nothing but a monster. A woman is responsible for so much carnage, and for what?

I refuse to show her how hurt I am, not after what she did, but for what she has robbed me of. A wicked smile spread across her face, as if she could read my thoughts.

She presses her fingers deeper into my skin, nearly breaking the skin and drawing blood. “I did,” she whispers.

Although I suspected that there had to be more to the plague than I knew, a part of me refused to think someone close to me had a hand in its creation. My father? Yes, he had lost his mind and became a mad scientist, but her?

I feel nothing but disgust. Everything else fades into the background compared to the feeling she induces in me. However, she has no care in the world for how I feel. She laughs as I try to jerk my face out of her grip. “Xandrious took everything from me, and once I am done with you, I will return the favor when I kill his son.” My brows furrow at her evil promise.

“Silly girl, you still don’t understand,” she murmurs, letting me go.

---